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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

One of our best 'small town' writers

“I think as the world changes, we
have to keep up. We have to note what is happening, and I think writing has
always had a powerful corrective influence and possibility. We have to write
about what's good, and we also have to write about parts of our culture that
are not good, that are not working out. I think it takes a new eye.” – Lee
Smith

American fiction author Smith, who
celebrates her 72nd birthday today, typically incorporates much of
her background from the Southeastern United States in her works. She has
received writing awards, such as the O. Henry Award, the American Academy of
Arts and Letters Award for Fiction, the North Carolina Award for Literature,
and, in April 2013, was the first recipient of Mercer University's Sidney
Lanier Prize for Southern Literature.

I really enjoy her work because it
not only is well written, it resonates with my own background of coming from a
rural area and small town America.“I
write about people in small towns; I don't write about people living in big
cities,” Smith said.“My kind of
storytelling depends upon people that have time to talk to each other.”Imagine that!

Smith published her first novel 45
years ago, and

in the intervening years, she’s published 12 more novels and
four short story collections. Her novel The Last Girls was listed on the
New York Times bestseller's list and won the Southern Book Critics
Circle Award.

Her advice for young writers is not
to use up all their own story in their very first efforts. “I think what happens to young writers is that
they use up every life experience that they have had up to that point for their
first novel. Then you have to come up with something for the second novel, but
you really don't have anything to say.”

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About Me

In addition to years of writing of news, sports, and feature stories, both as a journalist and in public relations, I've authored seven books (and counting :), a one-act play, and three songs. I also contributed to two published anthologies.

My newest book, the historical novel And The Wind Whispered, has earned top reviews around the nation and a Silver Award in the Historical Fiction category at the 2016 Colorado Book Awards. Check it out on Amazon or Goodreads. It also is available ion both print and e-book formats through all major book outlets.

I enjoy public speaking on the topics of “Telling
an Effective Story,” “Effective Communication,” and “Storytelling – From
Journalism to Creative Writing" and have been an invited speaker at recent Historical Novel Society and Historical Writers of America national conferences. You can access an interview with me on YouTube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3qNiwWshAM

I retired from Augsburg College (and my wife from St. Olaf College) in 2013 when we moved to Colorado, where I've been working on my books, writing for Broadlands Living magazine, and doing freelance marketing and p.r.